Nozstock: The Hidden Valley 2016
The 2016 summer ‘Hidden Valley festival’ is approaching 22nd-24th July, in the bliss of the daisy fields!
The family friendly festival is held in the heart of Herefordshire, West Midlands, and the outer parts of the small town, Bromyard. The event has already proven very popular as ‘The Super Early Bird Adult Weekend’ and ‘The Christmas Early Bird Adult Weekend’ tickets have already sold out!
Last year, the event had an amazing line-up of artists from a variety of different genres including Fuse ODG and P Money as well as ground shaking groovy tunes from artists DJ Hype and Jurassic pop for those dancing kings and queens.
Each year the festival focuses on a different wacky theme, with last year’s theme being, ‘The Nozstocker’s Guide to the Galaxy’. Just like a dream, this consisted of star gazing into the dark dreamy tents and bumping into promoters dressed as bright and bold AT-ATs and aliens.
What’s on?
Right then, what exactly does this festival include, you ask? This year will consist of artists performing across three stages: Orchard stage, Band stage and the Garden stage- for the true “greener” experience.
The Orchard stage is the main stage attraction of the festival, and situated in an auditorium. The Orchard stage is truly a global experience with bands and individual artists from all over the world. The genres of music implode the tents with indie music, pop music to RnB music and so on. This accommodates everybody’s diverse tastes and encourages a fabulous fun atmosphere.
Planted at the high hilltop is the Band stage which accommodates artists known for their electronic element. The Band stage had just the right amount of heavy bass and massive drops to send me on a path to electric bliss, dancing in the crowd meeting new, like-minded people everywhere I turned. I’ve already got my favourite stage picked out for next year and it’s none other than the Band stage! More importantly, this stage is ideal for those who would rather rest their feet up, with the selection of comfy sofas and arm chairs anybody can get completely lost in.
The DJ’s favourite is the Garden stage. Music ranging from, dance, funk, hip-hop, blues and rock can be heard here. This stage is seen on the distant hillside and overlooks the farm’s shimmering lake.
Additional DJ stages consist of, cubicles, bullpen, coppice, electro-swing. These arenas create the perfect rave, rammed with beats of drum and bass filled with rays of ultra-violet electro lights. The bullpen has been converted from an old barn into a dancing den, and is now remembered for its vibrating party anthems. Last, the electro-swing tent pays full attention to the range of soul music to those head banging rock ‘n’ roll music.
Activities…
Art fanatics and comedians can show off their skills, learn new skills, and network their talent in a variety of workshops, one being, ‘The Laughing Stock’. Previous comedians, such as Russell Howard and Stephen Frost have taken over here.
The Little-Wonderland Kids Area’ is a special spot for the family and kids, with a range of entertainment, including, face painting, story-telling, archery, sand sculpturing and the option to get gritty with creative art and craft games.
The Bantam of the Opera House’ is a tent filled with theatre, poetry and creative circus acts. A variety of shows performed with fancy dress costumes make the event more creative. One of last year’s famous acrobats, Eloise and Leo, from ‘Circus Inferno’ burned out the arena and were seen spinning of an electric swing.
Otherwise, for a more adult nature, ‘The Veleveteen Valley’ is another place where shows are performed after midnight in ‘The bantam of the opera house.’
For those wanting a more peaceful atmosphere away from the loud open field, then the visual performances of art, film and music in a ‘cinetent’ makes the setting a more appropriate environment to engage in. The cinema plays a variety of documentaries at ‘The Wrong Directions Cinetent’ and has been hosted by Mash Cinema, since 2002.
The last but not least separate setting is called, ‘The Village’. Acts, such as, stilt-walkers, jugglers, fire flares and unicyclist professionals perform for your delight.
Drink up!
Thirsty work this festi-vallying! The garden bar is placed near to the Garden stage which serves a selection of ice cold beverages, such as, mouth-watering apple flavoured cider, cocktails, real ale and a mixture of spirits and mixers.
For those under 18-year-olds, don’t worry! You can clench your first with a selection of non-alcoholic drinks.
Be sure to H2O… make sure you stay refreshed with water so you refrain from that splitting headache all us party goers normally suffer with… and enjoy the party all night long!
Greener fever!
The festival is notable for its organic and botanic way of life, which has been endorsed by winning ‘The Greener Festival Award’, in 2013-2014.
Logs and wood are also to promote the better life by using them to create tables and stalls for those needing a rest or so you can feast on the selection of diverse cultural foods, such as, Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Asian.
Tease your taste buds with a selection of cheap wood-fire baked pizzas for just under £10! Otherwise, an appetising hog on the spit caters for carnivore lovers or the options of fresh burgers are served with a filling of your fancy.
Vegetarians can tuck in to veggie breakfast baps or fill up quickly with a traditional veggie fry up… for dessert why not treat yourself further and indulge on the flavourful ice creams and sweets…
Cosy campers…
A lot of us enjoy the comfort of a hotel when we are travelling far out, but why not join the birds and bees and stay in a tent from just £30!
The large campsite allowed me to mix with other groups of fellow campers from all around the world, whilst we shared the ultimate green experience. You can customise your needs by choosing your own desired tent and camping equipment, without the hassle of carrying it all!
No one really enjoys the nuisance of nailing down tents so your tent will be made prior to your arrival and will be put away for you too… now that’s service!
Become a Nozzer!
‘Choose life, choose nostock’… Don’t miss out on the party and grab your ticket, or subscribe to the latest newsletter for this year’s line up on, http://nozstock.com/.
By Stephanie Smith